Classic Poem

Of all sweet names that sing in poets' ears
I think thy name is sweetest. Soft and new
It brought before me the broad Southern blue:
My dreams were sweetened by thy girlish years,
And hand in hand with all thy joys and fears
I wandered thine enchanted uplands through,
And saw the sunlight gild the wild " karroo, "
And saw thy lonely sweet eyes fill with tears.

I love the name, — the very sweetest name
It is that heart of poet ever sung.
I love to hear it linger on my tongue
And feel that through the word the heart I claim:
The heart so gentle, tender, and so young
And yet so full of force, and full of flame.